Tag Archives: bench

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Man Talking on Cell Phone

June 30, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Man sitting on a bench in front of a San Francisco building and talking on his cell phone.

The first time I worked on this photograph, I made a decision to work it up as a black and white image. However, when I returned to it a month or so ago, I felt like it might be interesting as a color photograph as well.

There is nothing all that special about the location itself – it is on a small street in an area that might be thought of as along the edges of downtown San Francisco. It is not too far to typical large downtown buildings, but here it seems that many might residences and rental units, and many on this street are connected with the Academy of Arts College (or is it “university” now?) facilities that are spread all around the city. I’m intrigued by the interesting shapes and colors and textures of these San Francisco buildings, that often embody some strange combination of a great deal of order (carefully painted rectangular white window frames), utility (the fire escape being almost the most prominent thing on the front of the building), and little oddities (the benches on a slanting sidewalk and guy talking obliviously on his cell phone).

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Man on Bench with Cell Phone

July 27, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of a man sitting on a bench and talking on his cell phone in front of the shaded wall of an urban building in San Francisco.

I was wandering through this part of San Francisco, mostly but not only looking for architecture like that of this building, especially with the combination of dark shadows and the fire escape contrasting with the white trim and the bright areas lit by the slanting sunlight. When I saw this fellow happily engaged in his cell phone call, completely oblivious to everything going on in the place where he sits I had to make a photograph.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

All Stops Special – Caltrain Station

July 24, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The San Francisco Caltrain station, photographed through glass lobby windows.

I frequently ride Caltrain to the City to do street photography. (Getting there by train is far better for me than taking the car, mainly because I think I can do more effective photography of this sort when I’m working completely on foot and not dealing with the whole driving/parking thing.) In this photograph I liked the nearly empty glass-enclosed lobby area, lit by very diffused light under the early morning fog, and with the trains visible on the other side. The “All Stops Special” sign seems enigmatic when seen out of context.

By the way, as much as San Francisco residents love the sunny and warmer days that occasionally come to the City this time of year, for photography I much prefer at least some fog and cloudiness, especially when I try to shoot during the daytime hours.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: People, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Curved Windows, Stairs, and Reflections – Getty Center

February 5, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

View through curved windows into the central rotunda at the Getter Center with stairs, people, and reflections.

This and a few of my other recent Getty Center photographs are at least partially “about” complexity of several sorts. This isn’t a simple image. I saw quite a few things here when I made it. I may have first been drawn to the reflections on the curving windows of this central building at the Center – it is the first building you enter as you come up from the tram, here photographed from the inner courtyard on the other side of the building. The reflections become almost as solid as some of the other elements since these “other” things are distorted both in shape and color by the windows. I also liked the zigzag pattern of the interior stairway and the two figures at the top balanced by the single sitting figure at the bottom and perhaps the walking figure near the right side. The light was interesting. It was a cloudy and rainy day. (In a full-size image you can see the raindrops on the foreground window.) Besides the odd green cast – more on that in a moment – because the light was diffused and coming from all directions in these misty and rainy conditions, I had a better chance to balance the exposure between the inside and outside areas. There are curves everywhere in the scene – starting with the curving windows, including the curving staircase, the outline of the round interior space, the far curved windows seen clearly in the upper part of the frame, and so on. Finally, as I thought about what to do with the narrow triangle of outside sidewalk at the lower left, it occurred to me that having it there enhanced the odd quality of the green-windowed interior space, and this space even began to remind be a bit of a giant aquarium.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: getty, center, los angeles, california, usa, museum, winter, travel, urban, art, rain, drop, wet, curved, window, frame, architecture, structure, building, rotunda, stairs, steps, railing, people, man, woman, reflection, silhouette, sky, complex, green, light, travel, stock, walk, stand, sit, bench, column

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: bench

Man Talking on Cell Phone

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Man on Bench with Cell Phone

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All Stops Special – Caltrain Station

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Curved Windows, Stairs, and Reflections – Getty Center

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